The islands are home to an important Indian military outpost, the only tri-services command in the country.

And, until several days ago, the world also feared that Flight 370 might have crashed nearby. Since then, however, the search for the jetliner has moved far afield deep into the Southern Indian Ocean.

Hong Lei, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, when asked by a reporter from the Agence France-Presse about India’s reported decision to decline China’s offer to help said that since the Malaysian aircraft went missing, countries including India have played an active part in the international search campaign.

“Going forward, China is ready to maintain coordination and communication with all relevant parties to press ahead with the search operation,” Mr. Lei added.

India and China, of course, are wary neighbors when it comes to military matters and a request like this from Beijing would be “very unusual,” says Brahma Chellaney of the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.

Given that the search for the missing flight is now more focused on areas thousands of miles away, Mr. Chellaney says, China’s request seems clearly intended to get a closer peek at Indian territorial waters and defenses.

There’s “nothing subtle about this,” he said.

Using the hunt for Flight 370 “for military advantage is the latest example of how [China] is becoming assertive” in the neighborhood.

Spokesmen for India’s defense and foreign-affairs ministries declined to comment on the report. Each suggested that the other ministry was in a better position to speak about it.

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